Teachers' math skills are targeted

State education officials, worried that many elementary teachers struggle with math, are making it harder to get a teaching license and urging colleges to offer more demanding courses for aspiring teachers.

The push follows years of concerns that elementary school teachers are passing on limited math skills to their students. Teachers ' unions worry that the emphasis on math could detract from other subjects, but state officials said the economy demands stronger skills. Elementary school teachers scored lower in math than in other subjects on a recent test. And students score lower on the elementary math MCAS than on the English exams.

"If we don't have high-achieving teachers, how do you get high-achieving students?" said Sandra Stotsky , a new member of the state Board of Education who also sits on the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, which advises the federal government on math teaching.

"It's an old saying, but teachers can't teach what they don't know," she said.

Massachusetts students lead the nation on national standardized tests in math. Still, fewer than half of the state's students demonstrate a solid command of math on those tests. And on the state MCAS exams, elementary scores have been flat for two years.

Part of the problem is teachers' skills, education officials said. Until now, the only math test required of aspiring elementary teachers has been an 18-question sub-test on a "general curriculum" exam, which also covers language arts, history, and other subjects.

To boost teachers' skills, the state Board of Education voted last month to create a broader math sub-test that elementary school teachers must pass to earn a license, starting in 2008. The test will be scored separately and include 40 questions -- more than double the number now -- and will probably cover tougher material, officials said.

Having a separate test will place greater scrutiny on teachers' skills. Under the existing system, passing the general test depended on the total number of correct answers, so it was possible to flunk the math portion and still earn a license. But Associate Education Commissioner Bob Bickerton said he didn't think that happened, based on the scores of the 2004-05 tests. Still, that year, about 500 people, or 13.6 percent of those who passed the test, answered half or fewer of the math questions correctly. Only 5.6 percent scored that low on the language arts portion.

The state also is intent on getting colleges to help improve teachers' math skills, an issue the Board of Education will take up this month. The state currently doesn't require a certain number of math classes for teachers, and demands only broad skills, such as "number sense" and "geometry and measurement." An informal state survey found that many colleges require only one math class, sometimes two.

Chancellor Patricia F. Plummer of the Board of Higher Education said it is likely that teachers will have to take more classes than are required now.

But the Massachusetts Teachers Association said the state is taking the wrong approach, even though the group agrees that teachers should have strong math skills. Instead of focusing on the test, the state should push schools to boost teacher training, increase the time spent teaching math, and make sure they are teaching what the state recommends. Teachers also worry that emphasizing math could distract teachers from other subjects.

"I don't think it's a question of teachers not knowing enough math," said MTA President Anne Wass . "Some districts did not allot enough time to the teaching of math. . . . That is a bigger, bigger problem."

State education officials, while saying that teachers' skills are part of the problem, also acknowledge that some schools aren't teaching the state's academic standards or providing students with extra help.

But Michael Klugerman , director of math training for Mass Insight Education, said many teachers don't know enough math to teach it effectively. Over the past year he tested 200 elementary school teachers at the start of a training session, and many struggled with basic math. For instance, less than half could answer questions, such as "30 is what percent of 75?" and "what is 14 divided by 1/2?"

"Elementary teachers are phobic about math," said Klugerman, adding that teachers improved after his training. "I've seen that very much in my classes. There's a lot of anxiety about math."

Board of Education Chairman Christopher R. Anderson said teachers aren't to blame because the state should have demanded higher skills.

"The tendency is to point fingers at the teachers in the classrooms," Anderson said. "Unfortunately the state regulations, at least for elementary school teachers, don't require any more."

Maria Sacchetti can be reached at msacchetti@globe.com.